Trolley switch



Dec. 18 1923.l HAH-77,807

G. W. Bom/ER TROLLEY SWITCH Filed March '25. 1922 Inventum @gorge W.Bower,

His Attomuey.

Patented Bec, l, i923.

narran sraras rarisnr carica,

GEORGE W. BOWER, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 GENERAL ELECTRICCOMPANY; A CORPORATION QF NEW YORK.

TROLLEY SWTCH.

Application filed March 25, 1922. Serial No. 545,804.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. Bowan, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county ofSchenectady, State of New Yorkhhave invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Trolley Switches, of which the following is aspeciiication.

The present invention relates to electric,

street car systems and more especially to systems of the tracklesstrolley type.

On account of the absence of the usual grounded track in tracklesstrolley systems, it is necessary to provide a double overhead trolleywire arrangement for the supply and the return sides of the powercircuit respectively and to provide the car with double contact meansfor collecting and returning the current from and to the respectivewires.

|The object of my invention is to provide improved 'switch means wherebya double contact trolley device may pass freely and quietly from a mainline of double overhead wires to a branch line, or vice versa, andwithout danger ci short circuiting from one wire to the other.

One form of embodiment of theinvention Y is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, in

which Fig. 1 is an under side plan of the switch with ends of thetrolley wires shown attached thereto; Fig. 2 is an isometric peraspective view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a similar view of the contact endof a current collector adapted for use in such a system.

The current collector shown in part in the drawing is the subject ofanother application Serial No. 516,094, tiled November 18, 1921. Thecontact end comprises a trausverse bar 1 on which are mounted twoindependent contact shoes 2 and 3 adapted to engage the under sides ofthe trolley wires. Between the adjacent ends of the shoes is aninsulating guide bracket 4, while at their outer ends the shoes haveextension lugs 5 provided with fender loops 6 and having attachedthereto fiexible wires 7 and 8 which connect with the terminals of thecar motor. In the trolley switch arrangement shown in the drawing, themain or through line wires a and o are assumed to be positive andnegative respectively and the branch line wires 0 and d are assumed tobe negative and positive respectively. In accordance with the presentday practice, the main line wires a and are uninterrupted at the pointof attachment of the switch.

The switch, as shown, is built up of five cross bars 9, 10, 11, 12 and13 of impregnated wood or other tough insulating material and pairs ofi'lat strips 1 6, 17 and 16', 17 secured edgewise to the under sides ci'the cross bars near their ends to form guide ways 11i and 15 for thefender loops on the trolley. The ends of the guide strips are bent inopposite directions to form iaring entrances to the guide ways 14 and15. Across the middle portions oi the bars 9, 10 and 11 are two shortguide strips 18 and 19. At the centers of bars 11, 12 and 13 is attacheda bent guide block or frog piece 20 oi insulating material, whilebetween it and guide strips 16 and 17 is an insulating block 21.

lhen the switch is installed the through line wires a and 25 extendacross beneath the bars 9 130,13 parallel to the guide way la. rlheswitch is held positioned vertically with the lower edges of the severalguide strips in substantially the operative piane oi the trolley wiresby means of hanger ears 22 connecting the wires a, c and Z to the lettside bar 9 and the wire a to the right hand bar 18. lithin the bounds ofthe switch the several trolley wires are drawn up and secured to theunder side oi the intermediate cross bars by clips 23.

ln order that the trolley head may pass the switch with a minimumimpact, the switch is designed to permit the head to pass beneath it andto shift from one pair of trolley wires to the other without changingits elevation. Accordingly the guide strip 1'? has secured to its loweredge a short section oi trolley wire 2%@ which extends out a shortdistance beyond the outermost cross bar 9 and clipped at 25 to the upperside of ing contact.

the through trolley wire u, so that current will be supplied to eithertrolley contact shoe 2 or 3 through the short wire section 24e", duringits passage along that side ot the switch. Similarly the guide strip 18carries a short wire section 24?; the guide strip 19 has a section 24,and the guide strip 17 has a section 24d.

When a trolley approaches the switch from, the right, it will bedirected by its guide bracket 4; in cooperation with the frog block 20,depending upon whether the vehicle is tending to go straight ahead orveering ofi to the left. In the first case the bracket 4 will pass tothe farther side of the frog 20 and cause the trolley guide loop 6 toenter the guide way 14E, and in the other' case the guide bracket L willpass to the near side of the frog 2O which will cause the opposite loop6 to enter guide way l5. When the trolley approaches the switch from theleft, it iS automatically directed by one 'of the guide loops 6 passinginto and 'along the corresponding guide way 14 or 15.

In order thatthere may be no chalice of short-circuiting the trolleywires at the switch, it is necessary to remove one of the wires from thearea of possible `short-circuit However, since such removal operates tointerrupt the flow of current to the car, it is'desirable that theremoved section be made as short as possible, since it isV necessary todepend upon the momentum of the car to carry it past the dead section.By arranging to have the adjacent wires Z) and c of the main and branchlines oit' like potential, they may be extended well beyond the centerof the switch without danger ot being short-circuited with wire a or bby a single contact shoe f2 or 3 coming in contact with bothsimultaneously.

Between the middle of the switch and the right hand end thereof, thereis an area in which a single contact shoe might simultaneously engagethe wire section 24 and the Wire Z) which are under different potentialsand cause a short-circuit of thel system.

Accordingly the insulating block 21 is in troduced at this point and byreason oi its carrying the line wire b up out of the contact pla-ne andits bottom edge oilering an insu-A lated path for the trolley in thatplane the wire b for the length of the block is effectually'shieldedfrom contact with the trolley. The operative length of the insulatingblock will, of course, depend upon circumstances, but as a generalproposition it is less than half the length of the switch.

The ends of the guide strips 18 and 19 are rounded and the strips 17 and17V are overrun by the trolley wire sections 24 and 24 as shown in thedra-wing to aiiord gradual approach thereto .of the trolley.

VThe oppositeends of cross bars 9 and y13 are "provided with loops 26whereby the switch may be suspended in the usual inanner by span wires.

`ivhile I have shown and described the best form oit' the inventionknown to me, l do not desire to be restricted thereto.

hat l claim as new and desire to secure by. Letters Patent of the UnitedStates,is:

1. An overhead switch for two wire trolley systems comprisingaistructure for connecting and supporting main line and branch linewires insulatively and in spaced relation, andinea-ns carried by saidstructure for guiding a double contact trolley in its passage thereof.

2. An overhead switch for two wire trolley systems comprising astructure for connecting andY supporting main line and branch line wiresinsulatively and in spaced relatiornineansY for directing a double ccnftact trolley in its approach to said switch, and means for guiding thetrolley-in its pas,

sage thereof. Y

3. An overhead switch vfor. two wireV short-circuiting of wires underAderence or" 1 potential by said trolley.

4f. An overhead switch forA two wire y trolley systems comprising astructure for trolley. systems comprising a structure for Y connectingand supporting main lineV and branch line WlleS lnsulatively andanspaced relation, means for guiding a doubleV contact trolley in itspassage betweenv main andbranch linewires, insulator means arranged onone of said main line `wires adjacent the point of departure. ofthe'branch wires to prevent contact ot the trolley therewith.

5. An overhead switch for Vtwo wire trolley Ysystems comprising astructure for connecting and supporting mainline and branch line wiresinsulatively and'in spacedV relation, means .for guiding a doublecontact trolley in its passage otsaid strllture, insulative andconductive contact tracks and surfaces on said structure arranged topermit passage of the trolleywithout change of` its elevation. Y Y

6.- An overhead switch for two wire trolley systems comprisingastructure built up ofV insulating bars and transverse guide 8. Anoverhead switch for two Wire in the path of the trolley and adapted attrolley systems comprising a structure built their outer ends to beconnected to the main up of insulating` bars and transverse guide lineand branch line Wires. 10 strips, means for attaching main line and InWitness whereof, I have hereunto set t branch line Wires to saidstructure above the my hand this 24th day of March, 1922.

operative path of the trolley, and Wire seotions secured to saidtransverse guide strips GEORGE W. BOWER.

